Conservatives Applaud Jon Stewart For Backing Wuhan Lab Leak Theory

Ken MeyerJun 15th, 2021, 11:55 am
 

Conservatives applauded Jon Stewart’s for embracing the coronavirus lab leak theory on The Late Show’s first post-pandemic episode.

The former Daily Show host was Stephen Colbert’s guest on Monday night for the show’s first full-audience production at the Ed Sullivan Theater since the pandemic began. Stewart and Colbert butted heads after Stewart voiced support for the theory that Covid came from a Chinese laboratory.

“And how long have you worked for Senator Ron Johnson?” Colbert asked during the exchange. This was clearly a jab at the Wisconsin senator — a longtime believer in the lab leak theory. But Stewart stood by his argument that “this is not a conspiracy.”

Between the coronavirus’ origins from Wuhan, China’s lack of transparency, and the politicization of the pandemic, the public discourse over the lab leak theory has been colored by battles of partisanship. Conservatives and hard-liners against China have been arguing in favor of the theory for months, whereas others have viewed it as an anti-Chinese conspiracy theory, or at least, an idea that requires more investigation, facts and hard evidence before it can be proven true.

Since Stewart’s endorsement of the lab leak theory flies in the face of those inclined to dismiss it as a right-wing talking point, many conservatives got on Twitter to gloat over the comedian’s surprising vote of confidence. Right-leaning political observers also mocked Colbert’s quip about Johnson, while complaining about how social media and the press have handled the theory by treating it as not credible:

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